Our projects
Consumer protection

Consumer Care Guidelines

Developing new Consumer Care Guidelines for retailers to better serve consumers.

  • Consumers
  • Retail

    • Overview

    We have decided that the two key protections of the Consumer Care Guidelines – prohibiting retailers from disconnecting customers they know to be medically dependent for non-payment and requiring any fees or charges to be reasonable - will apply from 1 January 2025. The remaining obligations will take effect from 1 April 2025 to ensure retailers have the necessary operational changes in place to implement the new requirements for their customers. Read media release

    Timeline

    Past activity

    Project background

    In April 2020, following a recommendation from the Electricity Price Review and industry feedback, we reviewed our guidelines for retailers on arrangements to assist medically dependent and vulnerable consumers. There had been significant change in New Zealand’s electricity industry and the existing guidelines were no longer fit for purpose. Our review led to the replacement of the medically dependent consumer and vulnerable consumer guidelines with new Consumer Care Guidelines.

    The intent of the Consumer Care Guidelines is to help retailers to:

    • adopt behaviours and processes that foster positive relationships with domestic consumers
    • help domestic consumers maximise their potential to access and afford a constant electricity supply suitable for their needs
    • help domestic consumers minimise harm caused by insufficient access to electricity or by payment difficulties
    • engage with medically dependent consumers - these customers must be identified and recorded as early as practicable and not disconnected for non-payment.

    It is currently voluntary for power companies to implement the Consumer Care Guidelines and they are not being applied consistently.

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